I like to be prepared. So when, in the rainy winter of 2013, my friend invited me to join my school’s Ski and Snowboard Team for the district tournament, I did my research. I looked up professional alpine ski races, carving tutorials, and race day tips. I visited my local sports shop to get my skis sharpened. I dug up archives of previous records from the depths of the Internet and tried to estimate where I would fall. Last place,...

Save-A-Tree. That’s the motto I’ve had since sixth grade, the tagline that my friends have heard one too many times. It was part of a hand-drawn logo, stamped repeatedly on everything I did. People would ask, “Why?” and I’d reply with a shrug, “Because I like trees.” Yet I never really knew why. Then, in the summer of 2011, my childhood nanny invited me to visit her hometown in Guangxi, China. I was expecting the typical teenager-goes-to-poor-village experience....

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” This compelling quote, said by the Lorax in Dr. Seuss’ famous story of the same name, has stuck with me throughout the years. The Lorax, a wise, quote-spouting environmentalist, would be the perfect partner for my William’s tutorial. Having seen first-hand the detrimental effects of commerce via the destruction of a loved one’s village in rural China, I am an...